BYD electric bus
The BYD electric bus or BYD ebus, called K9 in China, is an all-electric bus model manufactured by BYD powered with its self-developed Iron-phosphate battery, allegedly featuring the longest drive range of 250 km(155 miles) on one single charge under urban road conditions. BYD electric bus rolled off line on September 30, 2010 in Changsha city of Hunan province. This pure electric bus is another renewable energy vehicle by BYD following its models like F3DM, F6DM and e6. The K9 has a 12-meter body length and 18-ton weight with one-step low-floor interior for passengers' comfort, reportedly priced at 2–3 million yuan (S$395,000 - S$592,600). It has been running/tested in China and many other countries and regions such as Hong Kong, |publisher=Hkbus.wikia.com |date= |accessdate=2012-10-26}} U.S., Colombia, Chile, Spain, Netherlands and Denmark. |publisher=Chinabus.info |date= |accessdate=2012-10-26}} More than 200 BYD electric buses, in public transit service in Shenzhen China, have accumulated over 9,216,000 km (or 5,529,600 miles) by the end of August, 2012. In both 2011 and 2012, BYD has obtained electric bus orders from various countries/regions across the world, accumulating to 1200 plus units. In order to meet the increasing demands for its electric-driven-only bus, the company extended its production base in Tianjin city of China at the end of July, 2012 |publisher=Auto.ifeng.com |date= |accessdate=2012-10-26}} and probably has such plans in some other overseas regions like Brazil |publisher=Miit.ccidnet.com |date=2012-10-19 |accessdate=2012-10-26}} and Windsor of Canada. In May, 2013, BYD announced its new electric bus factory in Lancaster, California. The new factory will start production in October, 2013. Specifications Official specifications BYD's official specs publication on its electric bus includes: * Electric power consumption: less than 100kWh/60mins * Acceleration: 0–50 km/h in 20s * Top speed: 96 km/h * Normal charge: 6h for full charge * Fast charge: 3h for full charge * Or overnight charging: 60 kW Max.power to fully charge the bus within 5h * Range: ( according to some reports) * Length*Width*Height: 12,000mm*2,550mm*3,200mm |publisher=Bydauto.com.cn |date= |accessdate=2012-10-26}} * Standard seats: 31+1 (31 for passengers and 1 for driver) * Weight: 18,000 kg * Clearance between one-step entry and ground: 360mm While the parameters above are displayed on BYD's website, two or more versions of this bus have been exposed, say BYD K9A, K9B etc., the specifications of which will surely be different. The 2-door version has been in service in China's Shenzhen, Changsha, Xi'an and Shaoguan while its 3-door version has hit the roads in Shenzhen, Bogota etc. for test and demonstration purposes. Battery and powertrain BYD electric bus is powered-only by its in-house developed Iron-cell batteries, which have been applied to BYD e6, BYD DESS and its other energy storage items, and is always emphasized as one of the company's core technologies. BYD claims no emission, no pollution from its electric buses and the chemical materials contained in the battery can be recycled without any toxins. As for the power system of this pure electric bus, BYD's self-innovated in-wheel motor drive system which realizes the function of in-wheel motor drive and hub reductor. The max power output is 90 kW*2 and the max torque is 550Nm*2. Solar panels fixed on the vehicle were once reported to provide more power to supplement the on-board batteries and they really were included on BYD's demo units but not those that have been running on the road commercially, such as in Shenzhen and Xi'an for instance. Safety The bus is equipped with the following items to ensure passengers' comfort and safety: * unitary construction body * 4-wheel disc brake * ABS+ASR * one-step easy-pass with special footplates for wheelchair access * non-step inside Body and interior design This 12-meter bus has at least three versions when it comes to the body color(silver, yellow and green) for different markets. In the widely reported and dazzled silver version, the front windscreen occupies two-thirds of the front face of the bus for maximum viewing for the driver. Adjustable leather seating for driver and red and black leather seats for passengers. The battery packs are laid in the vehicle rear or both sides inside the two cabins. The non-step low-pass-aisle is designed for comfortable traveling experience Policies On November 4, 2012, BYD released its new solution for promoting the sales of its pure-electric vehicle e6 and electric bus at a press conference in Beijing, which is called "Zero vehicle purchase price, Zero costs, Zero emissions" and supported financially by China Development Bank, over 30 Billion RMB ($4.6B USD) now being ready for this financial program. According to the scheme specifically targeting the public transmit operators/companies, customers can choose one of three optional operating models which could be most suitable to them. The three models are shown in the following table. The policy initiate explained the concept of "ZERO COST" by comparing the five-year fees between a fuel taxi and its all-electric cab in Shenzhen city and after a sequence of calculations, it came to the conclusion that "if the car runs for 5 years, and the total saving over 5 years is deducted from the higher cost of the vehicle and the interest on multiple payments, it can save 326,400 RMB. Besides, the company said if enough miles are done, "the vehicle payment will be entirely offset". BYD also emphasized the "ZERO EMISSION" feature of its renewable-energy vehicles by stating that "an e6 electric taxi saves 14,120 litres of fuel per year, with 32 tonnes fewer CO2 emissions", and "169 million litres of fuel could be saved with CO2 emissions reduced by 38.62 million tonnes per year" if all Chinese taxis were to be replaced with its electric vehicles. Currently, this policy is only available to the Chinese market. Operations The BYD electric bus was delivered to Austin, Texas; and the visits took place in North America: New York, Washington D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland and San Francisco since December 2011. BYD has supplied several buses into Toronto and Vancouver. BYD electric bus will be delivered to Wuhan, China this year. In Singapore, the BYD electric bus had been delivered in December 2013. The BYD electric bus was delivered to Singapore and it is fully air-con. It will be deployed to route 502 (1 bus) and 518 (1 bus). The new buses will have a logo called "Land Transport Authority (LTA)" and it shows 'I am a electric bus'. It was licenced to carry 34 seating passengers and 52 standing passengers giving more standing room as these will encourage passengers to move to the rear. The buses will also have triplicated handrails. The new buses will be 12m like Mercedes-Benz O530 Citaro. 20 units of the BYD K9 were purchased by the Land Transport Authority as part of the efforts to build a more environmentally-friendly public bus fleet. The 12-metre BYD K9 bus incorporates large-capacity Lithium-Iron-Phosphate batteries which allow the bus to travel 250km on a single charge, under urban road conditions. The front door of the electric buses will not have the centre pole to allow easier access for passengers with strollers.